MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-05-28 |
| FROM | From: "Rene Ferrer"
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] Novell's letter to SCO
|
...the letter. Please save your applause until the end. :)
Mr. Darl McBride
President and CEO
The SCO Group
Re: SCO's "Letter to Linux Customers"
Dear Darl:
As you know, Novell recently announced some important Linux initiatives.
These include an upcoming NetWare version based on the Linux kernel, as well
as collaboration and resource management solutions for Linux.
Put simply, Novell is an ardent supporter of Linux and the open source
development community. This support will increase over time.
It was in this context that we recently received your "Letter to Linux
Customers." Many Novell business partners and customers apparently received
the same letter. Your letter compels a response from Novell.
As we understand the letter, SCO alleges that unnamed entities incorporated
SCO's intellectual property into Linux without its authorization. You
apparently base this allegation on a belief that these unnamed entities
copied some UNIX System V code into Linux. Beyond this limited
understanding, we have been unable to glean any further information about
your allegation because of your letter's vagueness.
In particular, the letter leaves certain critical questions unanswered. What
specific code was copied from UNIX System V? Where can we find this code in
Linux? Who copied this code? Why does this alleged copying infringe SCO's
intellectual property? By failing to address these important questions, SCO
has failed to put us on meaningful notice of any allegedly infringing Linux
code, and thus has withheld from us the ability - and removed any
corresponding obligation - to address your allegation.
As best we can determine, the vagueness about your allegation is
intentional. In response to industry demands that you be more specific, you
attempt to justify your vagueness by stating, "That's like saying, 'show us
the fingerprints on the gun so you can rub them off.'" (Wall Street Journal,
May 19, 2003) Your analogy is weak and inappropriate. Linux has existed for
over a decade, and there are plenty of copies in the marketplace with which
SCO could attempt to prove its allegation.
We are aware that you recently offered to disclose some of the alleged Linux
problems to Novell and others under a nondisclosure agreement. If your offer
is sincere, it may be a step in the right direction. But we wonder whether
the terms of the nondisclosure agreement will allow Novell and others in the
Linux community to replace any offending code. Specifically, how can we
maintain the confidentiality of the disclosure if it is to serve as the
basis for modifying an open source product such as Linux? And if we cannot
use the confidential disclosure to modify Linux, what purpose does it serve?
In your letter, you analogize SCO's campaign against the Linux community to
that of the record industry against major corporations whose servers
contained downloaded music files. There are crucial differences between the
two campaigns. The record industry has provided specific information to back
up its allegation, while SCO steadfastly refuses to do so. In its allegation
letter, the record industry provides evidence of allegedly infringing
activity that is specific to the targeted company. This offers the company
real notice of the activity, sufficient information to evaluate the
allegation, and an opportunity to stop the activity if it determines the
allegation is true. If SCO wants to compare its actions to those of the
record industry, it should follow the example set by that industry and
present specific evidence of the alleged infringement.
SCO claims it has specific evidence supporting its allegation against the
Linux community. It is time to substantiate that claim, or recant the
sweeping and unsupported allegation made in your letter. Absent such action,
it will be apparent to all that SCO's true intent is to sow fear,
uncertainty, and doubt about Linux in order to extort payments from Linux
distributors and users.
This true intent becomes clearer when one considers various public
statements you and other SCO personnel have made about SCO's intellectual
property rights in UNIX. SCO continues to say that it owns the UNIX System V
patents, yet it must know that it does not. A simple review of U.S. Patent
Office records reveals that Novell owns those patents.
Importantly, and contrary to SCO's assertions, SCO is not the owner of the
UNIX copyrights. Not only would a quick check of U.S. Copyright Office
records reveal this fact, but a review of the asset transfer agreement
between Novell and SCO confirms it. To Novell's knowledge, the 1995
agreement governing SCO's purchase of UNIX from Novell does not convey to
SCO the associated copyrights. We believe it unlikely that SCO can
demonstrate that it has any ownership interest whatsoever in those
copyrights. Apparently, you share this view, since over the last few months
you have repeatedly asked Novell to transfer the copyrights to SCO, requests
that Novell has rejected. Finally, we find it telling that SCO failed to
assert a claim for copyright or patent infringement against IBM.
SCO's actions are disrupting business relations that might otherwise form at
a critical time among partners around Linux technologies, and are depriving
these partners of important economic opportunities. We hope you understand
the potential significant legal liability SCO faces for the possible harm it
is causing to countless customers, developers, and other Linux community
members. SCO's actions, if carried forward, will lead to the loss of sales
and jobs, delayed projects, canceled financing, and a balkanized Linux
community.
We, like others, are concerned about the direction of SCO's campaign. For
now, we demand that SCO either promptly state its Linux infringement
allegations with specificity or recant the accusation made in your letter.
Further, we demand that SCO retract its false and unsupported assertions of
ownership in UNIX patents and copyrights or provide us with conclusive
information regarding SCO's ownership claims. In the future, we hope SCO
will adhere to standards of strict accuracy when stating its rights in UNIX.
Sincerely,
Jack L. Messman
Chairman, President and CEO
About Novell
Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver
secure identity management (Novell Nsure), Web application development
(Novell exteNd) and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise),
all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell
Ngage). Novell's vision of one Net - a world without information boundaries
- helps customers realize the value of their information securely and
economically. For more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center
at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit
http://www.novell.com/pressroom.
Novell is a registered trademarks; Nsure, exteNd and Nteprise are
trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States
and other countries. * All third-party trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Press Contact:
Gary Schuster
Novell, Inc.
Phone: (781) 956-9661
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